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Friday, March 8, 2013

Sometimes one thing leads to another, and sometimes we have happy accidents. Today's post is a result of both!

Ever since we finished our dressing room over a year ago, I have been on the hunt for the oh so perfect rug. Our lower level floors are a waterproof rubber laminate which we installed over the concrete, so it tends to get a little chilly. When I get up in the morning, I head into the dressing room, and my feet say brrrrrr.....

I know, sad story right? But I knew an area rug would solve the problem. But the bigger problem is that area rugs can be expensive, especially for a thicker wool option, which is what I was after. And, it is just the dressing room after-all. It wasn't necessarily a room that I intended on splurging on a high end rug for.

But, after months and months of searching, I was coming up empty handed. The rug the crew from the Storage Magazine shoot brought in, was a creamy yellowy gold color and it was AH-Mazing. However, it was over $900! Ouch and boo.

When Jackie from Teal & Lime was visiting a few weeks ago, she was taking some photos of our home and I shared the rug dilemma with her... Lucky for me I did because last weekend I received a text message from the sweet gem of a gal that there was a greek key rug that she spotted at Lowes, that she thought might work for the dressing room. And the best part, it was only $84! {you can find it here}.

On the website, it came in both a cream and a blue, and at $84, I wasn't going to miss out. So, later that day I took the hike to our closest Lowes to see the rug in person. I have to admit, I was feeling a bit skeptical, but it was truly fabulous. It was a nice thick wool rug, the type you would typically find yourself spending at least a few hundred dollars on. And the size was just right too. The only catch was that I couldn't find the cream version, so the blue was just going to have to do.

The reason I wasn't jumping at the blue initially, as amazing as it is, is because we have blue walls and the blue stools. Add in the blue rug and holy moly batman, that is A LOT of blue. Me no likey.

So that is when the happy accident came in. After picking up a floral scarf from Target earlier in the week, I tossed it onto one of the blue stools, and BAM! Loooove happened.

I was just about to start spending hours upon hours scouring the web for fabric options to recover the stools, but in that moment I knew it wouldn't be necessary.

So, as a reminder, here is what I started with.

Now, a scarf is obviously not upholstery material, and in 98% of circumstances, I would completely advise against the following actions.... But these stools are not in a high traffic area of our home. They are not climbed on by the kids or used as footstools daily while kicking up our feet. They are primarily used when folding and hanging our clothes, and occasionally for sitting down to put on our socks.

We started by taking the top off...

And we revealed the bottom, where the wood was pre-drilled for the tufting.

Which we carefully removed.

We gently stretched the scarf across the top of the stool {which still had the original blue fabric on it as well}, flipped it over and rolled the edges. By rolling the edges, we were giving our staple gun something to really grip to.

Once the scarf was completely attached, we flipped the top back over and started the re-tufting process.

We had to find a way to get the strings back through the thick bench top. No giant needle here at home, we were forced to get creative. A tiny screwdriver paired with some tape did the trick.

We fed the string through the top with the screwdriver and then weaved the string through a series of staples on the underside to hold the tufting in place.

Boom! Sooooo pretty!

Talk about happy chills!

The updated stools made such a difference in the space, just that tiny bit of pattern really popped against the oh so blue backdrop.

All the changaroos also inspired me to move the vanity table between the armoires. Just wanted to try something new and fill the space a little better. The dresser went where the vanity was.

I really love all the softness the rug made in the room, and my feet appreciate it as well. But what I love even more, is that the small and quick change to the stools completely changed the entire feeling of the room.

It is funny for me to think that if I never would have tossed the scarf down onto the stools, I may still be searching for the perfect fabric. I am also grateful for good friends for sharing steels and deals with me! It got me wondering, what has magically sparked inspiration for you in one of your spaces or projects? Do you have any happy accident stories to share?

102 comments:

LOVE the makeover! I've used place mats from Pier 1 (they have the best) as covers for throw pillows. Then you just buy a solid color fabric to cover the back of the pillow. Your blog is amazing, I'm constantly inspired!-Ashlee from www.twentysomethingbows.blogspot.com

i totally loved seeing your house through another lense. :-) I have practically studied your home so it was so nice to see some different angles. Love it, and i have convinced my hubby that we should get that upholstered bench from your dining room. Thanks!! :-)

It looks amazing Jen!! That was one pretty scarf and one happy accident :) The vanity looks like it was made for that space too! With the two large wardrobes, the scale of the vanity and lucite chair are perfect. What a completely happy room to get dressed up in each day! I think a rug scouting trip to Lowe's might be on our weekend docket :)

I love everything about this! The stools came out beautifully. I saw the exact same rug at Lowes last week and seriously stood there at the bin for a solid 5 minutes staring at them and trying to think of a place in my house where I could put one! Really beautiful rug for such an amazing price.

This is simply fantastic! I absolutely adore this room! It makes me want to turn a room in my house into a dressing room just so I can have it look similar! Let's not forget the functionality of the space! I love the scarf over the stools as well. It's a pretty muted floral pattern that isn't to overwhelming =) Sometimes oppsies are the best!

I love this rug. It'd be perfect in my dining room! Unfortunately they charge $79 for shipping, i live ten minutes from Lowes, which is funny because its only $84 bucks. But my backseat doesn't fold down in my car, so it'd never fit in there!

I didn't think I could love this room any more...but now I do! You have such an eye for blending textures, colors, and patterns-- I'm jealous! ;) Thanks for showing us this beautiful space. Have a wonderful weekend!

I absolutely love it all! Our bedroom really needs some attention. Its so BLAH and unfortuntaly I am bedbound quite often because of my illness and I sure wish that our bedroom felt more like an escape and more luxurious and hot actually. I love all of the stenciling you've done and the mix of colors and prints. I just love it. Want to help me plan my bedroom? Please? :)

However, please pretty please white balance your camera before you take your photos. In this post, the colors in most of the pictures look so muted and washed out because it's too cool. I can't tell how well the seats look in the room this way. Usually you have problems the other way (your rooms look too yellow/warm) from the lack of white balance.

That one easy step before taking your pictures would make a HUGE difference in how much we can appreciate your lovely rooms!

Ack, I know. The room is so hard to photograph. Especially during certain points in the day, since there is a bright direct natural light that shines in through into half of the room from our adjoining bedroom window, and the other half is basically dark, since there are no windows in the actual space. Sometimes I shoot the room perfectly, and others, I struggle no matter how I white balance.

I love the stools! I'm always looking for cute fabric, and I find it a bit of a challenge... What a great idea to use a pretty scarf instead, at least on a lesser used piece! Pulls everything together beautifully.{lamourcheznous.wordpress.com}

Beautiful update! On a different note, I love your floors. Would u mind sharing what type of LVT they are and if you're happy with them? We're looking to redo our basement and I really don't want carpeting. TIA!

We went with the TrafficMaster Allure Ultra Vinyl Plank Flooring, seen here: http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202352552?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=allure+ultra&storeId=10051&N=5yc1v&R=202352552#.UT6bXFf5-gs

It clicked together and we installed it ourselves in the lower level within a weekend. It only required a utility knife for cuts, which was great! We have been quite happy with it, and most people are surprised to hear it is actually a vinyl instead of a wood or laminate.

HI Jen, I usually don't comment, I kind of lurk! :) But I had to tell you that I have been looking for a blue rug FOREVER!!!! In fact, just came back from looking for one today! I was shopping on line and gave up for the day....and happened to read your blog and YES!!! I ordered one from Lowes to pick up (near Minneapolis) and today was the last day to get the half price here. What luck!!! Thank you for posting this!!! I didn't want to spend over $100 and this made my day, week, month!!! I so enjoy your blog. Rose

Hi Jen..... Rug update! :) LOVE IT! You are right, it is so cushy and thick. I love the blue (a little more grey in person) and it is perfect for the room. The Greek Key pattern is not jumping out at me, but just comes across as texture. The store had more blue and the cream color too, and they were marked down, so I can't see them raising the price back up at this store (Shakopee, MN, for anyone interested). I am so glad I waited to buy a rug and got this deal! Thanks again! Rose

Such a fab idea! I'm always lamenting the lack of prettiness in a lot of fabrics when I'm looking to do some DIY and this is so helpful - definitely thinking outside the box and works a charm! Love it!

Lovely room! The scarf accident is amazing, you have me looking at my scarf collection for inspiration. Lowes seems to have bumped on the price of the rug to double $168! Wonder if they noticed the interest or if there was a sale when you purchased it.

I think those are perfecto :) So pretty! I had the same closet in my bedroom of my college home in Seattle. I lived in the old dining room of the house, so there wasn't a closet. This one worked perfect!

Was just coming to say that I scored one for $47 at our Lowe's. Such a beautiful post and so inspired by it all that I bought it today. It brightens my new Studio and makes me smile each time I walk in the sunroom! Thanks for the heads up!

For those who bought this rug, are you happy with the quality? On the website there are a couple of reviews about the rug shedding too much and getting frayed, but there a couple of positive reviews too. I am planning to use a couple of rugs I got for $42 in the children's room so if it sheds too much, it may be a problem...

Thank you so much for taking a moment to join in the conversation! I read and sincerely appreciate each and every comment, however, I will remove any comment that I believe to be inappropriate, malicious or spam like. I would love for this comment section to be used as a place to engage in purposeful dialogue, and criticism/feedback is best received when shared constructively. This blog is my happy slice of the internet, let's keep it that way!